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Tandy's model 2000 has great appeal
Tandy, one of the earliest
producers of personal com
puters, has always gone it alone,
and has been rather successful
because of its extensive, nation
wide chain of retail stores.
However, bccause of IBM's
strength in the personal-com
puter industry, few companies,
except perhaps giant Apple, can
afford any longer not to jump
on the bandwagon and design
IBM-compatible machines.
This is unfortunate, for the im
agination and innovation that
have characterised the person
al-computer industry will sure
ly suffer if the machines be
come solely the business of mil
lion-dollar behemoths. Never
theless, the writing is on the
wall.
Thus the new computer from
Tandy, the TRS-80 model
2000, like most new computers
these days, has striven to be
IMB-compatib!e.
Actually, comparable might
be a better word to describe the
relationship. The model 2000
cannot run everything the IBM
PC does. On the other hand, the
programs it is able to use run
more quickly, the video display
I
is much sharper and clearer,
and the price is lower.
One particularly appealing
design feature of the model
2000 is that the cord connccts
to the underside of the console
and makes it way to the front
unobstructed, rather than at
taching at the rear in the usual
fashion. The slightly raised con
sole allowing for this feature
also permits the keyboard to
slide partially out of the way
beneath the computer when it
is not in use. To save further
work space, a floor stand is
available for the machine, per
mitting it to park vertically,
next to the desk.
Right up front where it ought
to be on every computer, but
rarely is, is the on-off switch,
which can be used instead of
pressing the standard trio of
control, alternate and delete
keys.
The model 2000 can use a
green monochrome monitor or
a larger colour monitor. With
either, the screen image is far
superior to that of the IBM PC.
At the heart of the model
2000 is a mightier micro
processor than that driving the
1MB PC. IBM uses an Intel
8086 chip, Tandy an Intel
80186, and that lone "one"
makes a big difference. When
the Tandy computer draws a
chart or graph, it does so notice
ably faster than the 1MB PC.
The model 2000 is noticeably
faster over all. How much faster
it is would be difficult to de
termine in any given situtation,
however, Tandy says that its
machine runs software "up to
three times faster than the IBM
PC". Creative Solutions, by
Ann Arbor, Michigan, a US
company specialising in ac
counting software, has pub
lished a benchmark com
parison between the Tandy
model 2000 and the 1MB XT,
based on producing actual re
ports and financial statements.
In the various tests, the model
2000 performed from seconds
faster to more than twice as fast.
A swifter computer offers no
real advantage if. it reads in
formation from discs slowly.
Also, high-speed computing
fills up discs more quickly. Tan
dy has addressed both prob
lems. The disc-access speed of
its new machine is impressive.
The discs themselves arc of the
type known as quad density.
Capable of storing 720k, or
roughly 720,000 characters,
they double the storage capacity
of the discs used by the IBM PC
and its clones.
Tandy has chosen the same
microsoft operating system that
IBM chose. So much of the
software originally written for
the IBM PC by independent
developers would need only
slight modification in order to
run on the model 2000 and be
sold under the Tandy labei.
Many of the most popular busi
ness programs, such as Lotus
1-2-3, Multiplan, the PFS series
and Multimate, are already
available for the new Tandy
computer.
The model 2000 offers a lot
of features for the money.
Something else it offers is an
extensive network of Tandy
stores effectively answering the
question, "Where can I have
my computer serviced?' Only
tirtne will measure the model
2000's durability. But this may
well be the machine that frees
Tandy from its hobby image.
- New York Times
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